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History

As we gathered at the graveyard, facing the sea and a memorial to the deceased, rain clouds parted, and the crowd was moved by the appearance of a rainbow.

World War I Handmade American Flag to Stay in Scotland

The Smithsonian Institution extends its loan of the historic artifact to Islay—a small island with a big heart

The Pittsburgh Crawfords, 1935 Negro National League Champions, are considered by many to be the greatest African American league team ever fielded. The team included five future Hall of Famers, from left: Oscar Charleston, first; Judy Johnson, fifth; Cool Papa Bell, 12th; Josh Gibson, 15th; and Satchel Paige, 17th.

History of Now

Preserving Negro League History Has Never Been Easier, or Harder, Depending on Who You Ask

While digitization of old newspapers has led to a statistical renaissance in baseball archives, the stories of those who played the game are being lost

Buffaloes at Rest recalls a time when bison were plentiful. When the print was created in 1911, only about 1,350 remained.

The Bison Returns to the Great American Plains

After years of fierce debate, the West’s greatest symbol will again roam the countryside

When Churchill Dissed America

Our exclusive first look at the diaries of King George VI reveals the Prime Minister’s secret hostility to the United States

Deep inside Monte Kronio, hot, humid and sulfurous caves held an ancient secret.

Prehistoric Wine Reveals Missing Pieces of Ancient Sicilian Culture

In a 5,000 year-old jar, archaeologists discovered the remnants of wine

Buffalo Bill poster, 1900, by the Courier Lithography Company

The Shrewd Press Agent Who Transformed William Cody Into Larger-Than-Life Buffalo Bill

“Arizona John” Burke perfected the art of hype that converted a bison hunter into a symbol of national character

A Mega Millions billboard in Omaha, Nebraska, adjacent to a Sears store, shows $999 million, the maximum number it can show,

The Puerto Rican Roots of the Mega Millions Jackpot

The first modern lottery in the United States raised funds to fight tuberculosis

The Woman Who Made a Device to Help Disabled Veterans Feed Themselves—and Gave It Away for Free

World War II nurse Bessie Blount went on to become an inventor and forensic handwriting expert

Now held in the collections of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum are a 35 mm camera (left) and a digital camera. Each was used by John Glenn on his two journeys into outer space.

How John Glenn’s Encore Space Flight Lifted U.S. Spirits

Two cameras tell the tale of the first American to orbit Earth and his return to space 36 years later

The ponies of eastern Maryland and Virginia, seen here in 2002, were made famous in the book "Misty of Chincoteague."

American South

The True Story of Misty of Chincoteague, the Pony Who Stared Down a Devastating Nor’Easter

The Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 was a horse of another color

The Cleaver family of "Leave It to Beaver"

The Dawn of Television Promised Diversity. Here’s Why We Got “Leave It to Beaver” Instead

Using original archival research and FBI blacklist documents, a new book pieces together the intersectional narratives that never made it on air

Raising a block of buildings on Lake Street, Chicago, in 1857

How Chicago Transformed From a Midwestern Outpost Town to a Towering City

The Windy City spurred its miraculous growth by building canals, laying sewers and jacking up buildings

Roberto Clemente made the National League All-Star team 11 times in his 18 seasons.

Roberto Clemente: The King of Béisbol

The sports superstar and humanitarian transcended baseball’s borders

The bow of the ship, believed to be of the snake carving on the Lake Serpent.

Underwater Archaeologists May Have Discovered the Oldest Shipwreck in Lake Erie

After an ill-fated journey hauling boulders sank it, the Lake Serpent is at last ready to tell its story

Angelina Eberley fires off the cannon at the agents attempting to move the archives from her hometown of Austin.

The Fascinating Story of the Texas Archives War of 1842

Far from consequential, the battle over where the papers of the Republic of Texas should reside reminds us of the politics of historical memory

The beginning of excavations at Çatalhöyük.

Ancient Proteins From Unwashed Dishes Reveal the Diets of a Lost Civilization

Material pulled from ceramic sherds reveals the favored foodstuffs in the 8,000-year-old city of Çatalhöyük in Turkey

In the late 1800s, milk and dairy products could be teeming with dangerous bacteria, contaminated by worms, hair and even manure.

The 19th-Century Fight Against Bacteria-Ridden Milk Preserved With Embalming Fluid

In an unpublished excerpt from her new book The Poison Squad, Deborah Blum chronicles the public health campaign against tainted dairy products

A monument in lower Manhattan commemorates the "sale" of Lenape lands to the Dutch.

The True Native New Yorkers Can Never Truly Reclaim Their Homeland

Nearly 400 years after the alleged “sale of Manhattan,” some Lenape strive to reawaken their cultural heritage on the islands where their ancestors thrived

Researchers discovered hnefatafl game pieces made of whale bone in upper- and middle-class Vendel graves.

Viking Chess Pieces May Reveal Early Whale Hunts in Northern Europe

The board game hnefatafl, commonly called Viking chess, pits an attacking player against another trying to defend the king

The decision to remove the statue came September 12, 2018, when San Francisco’s Board of Appeals voted for it to be carted off to a storage facility.

San Francisco’s ‘Early Days’ Statue Is Gone. Now Comes the Work of Activating Real History

The racist sculpture’s end comes at a “tipping point for the politics of Native American memory,” says the director of the American Indian Museum

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